Addis Ababa, November 19, 2025 (FMC) — Ethiopia’s Agriculture Minister, Addisu Arega, emphasized that farmers’ ownership and discipline are central to the success of the second phase of the Agricultural Commercialization Clusters initiative, the Agricultural Commercialization through Climate-Smart and Inclusive Innovations (ACCII) program, which aims to modernize agriculture and strengthen rural livelihoods.
The program was officially launched on Tuesday, November 18, during a high-level event in Addis Ababa attended by government officials, development partners, private-sector representatives, and smallholder farmers.
Minister Addisu described ACCII as “not simply a continuation” of the first phase but a strategic consolidation and scale-up informed by lessons, evidence, and experiences from ACC I.
He noted that the first phase had reached approximately 4.4 million farmers, with more than 2.5 million adopting the cluster model, contributing an estimated 11 percent to Ethiopia’s agricultural GDP. “The outcomes confirm that coordinated interventions from input supply, extension, mechanization, aggregation, processing, and marketing unblock direct transportation at scale,” he said.
Looking ahead, ACCII will expand its reach to 6.5 million farmers across nine regional states, placing climate-smart agriculture at the center of productivity and resilience.
The minister highlighted that the program also aims to strengthen market linkages, promote agro-processing, and integrate value addition, while ensuring nutrition, gender, and youth inclusion are incorporated throughout.
ACCII emphasizes stronger institutional coordination, monitoring, and accountability, requiring active participation from regional governments, development partners, the private sector, civil society, and farmers themselves.
Minister Addisu stressed that the program links agricultural modernization with broader rural transformation, ensuring that Ethiopia’s farming systems are resilient, market-driven, and inclusive.
The minister also underlined ACCII’s role in addressing emerging challenges, including climate variability, rising food prices, land fragmentation, and increasing global demand for quality and traceability. “Its success will require dedication from all sides… and most importantly, our farmers, whose resilience and discipline remain the foundation of Ethiopian development,” he said.
Minister Addisu expressed sincere appreciation to regional leaders, development partners, and contributors whose commitment has been instrumental in making ACC a national model.
He called on all stakeholders to work with focus, accountability, and determination to ensure ACCII delivers on its promise of transforming Ethiopia’s agriculture.